Interview with Charley Sloan

Conducted on February 14th, 2007.

AS: First, tell us a little about yourself!

CS: Let’s see…I’ve been married for almost 16 years. We have 3 children (2 TEENAGE!! daughters & 1 son). We live on my family’s farm in N.W. Missouri. My wife is a stay at home mom. My kids go to school. I work as a full-time military
technician for the U.S. Army Reserve and am an active army reservist.

AS: When were you first approached to portray James Allen in Alamo: Price of
Freedom?

CS: On set. I think this is a neat story:

I was originally working as an extra. I was one of the reenactors from Shelby’s
5th MO Cavalry (WHOAH!) who were portraying Santa Anna’s body guards. I had a
great time. I got to “go over the wall,” ride around behind Enrique, etc. If you
look real close at our unit, you can see me. (I was the one riding a buckskin).
We brought our own horses, equipment, and uniforms (some of which we hand-made ourselves). We arrived early, and the production company had
an open casting call the weekend before filming started.

Since there were three teenage boy parts, some of the other boys in our unit & I
tried out. On my dad’s advice, I spent the first week of filming bugging the
casting director about his decision. Finally, toward the end of the first week,
he finally told me I was going to get to be “one of the boys.” I was so excited!
I didn’t care which part I got; any part was awesome!

It turned out that I was slotted to have the “second” boy part. However, the
young man originally picked to play the part of James Allen got “seen” in a
battle scene during the first week of filming. Apparently, this scene was too
important to cut. So, I got bumped up to play James Allen. I think this story is
cool because it just goes to show you that persistence really pays off!

AS: What training did you do to prepare for the role of the Alamo’s last
surviving courier? I remember you had a few scenes on horseback.

CS: Well, specific to riding, I guess you could say that I spent my entire life
preparing for this type of role. My mom jokes that I was riding before I could
walk. That may be true, and it’s because my dad is a horseman. As I mentioned,
we were part of a Civil War era cavalry reenactment unit; & Dad is a
wrangler/stuntman. Ever since I can remember, I spent weekends and summers
hanging out with the guys from Shelby’s. As I got older, I eventually got to
ride; first as a bugler, and finally as a regular troop. Anyway, part of my
chores leading up to our trip to Bracketville involved helping build the period
saddles and helmets we used as Santa Anna’s bodyguards. This was done at another
Shelby’s member’s home. Since I had just turned 15 and didn’t have a driver’s
license, I had to ride a horse several miles to that person’s house everyday.
So, I was very ready for my riding scenes. Or so I thought….

AS: How long were you on set to shoot your scenes? Any funny stories you’d care
to share from your time in Bracketville?

CS: I was on set most every day for the entire shoot. The last scene shot involved
James Allen. It was almost like a full time job! But, it was the most fun I ever
had “working!” That final scene turned out to be a pretty funny episode;
although I didn’t think so at the time.

I had to wait quite awhile to perform that scene. It was late at night. It
seemed to be taking for ever to shoot this last scene of the entire shoot;
mostly because I kept messing up my lines. I was tired, and I think everyone was
ready to wrap it up and get out of there! Well, I finally delivered my line
flawlessly (in my not so humble opinion!): “My name’s James Allen, sir. I was
with the men who took the Alamo from the Mexicans & We’re not gonna let ‘em take
it back, are we sir?” Casey Biggs was supposed to simply say “No son, we are
not” (or something similar). Instead, Casey looks right at me and says, “Get out
of here kid! This is my movie!” Everybody on set had a good laugh at that. They
said my face went pale and a truck could have driven into my gaping mouth!

I have so many funny stories from my time in Bracketville. It was truly a
marvelous time for me. But, I won’t take up too much space. Although… I guess I
could elaborate on the last question about my riding scene. It was funny (but
pretty embarrassing!).

The scene in which COL Travis sends James Allen out for help, I FELL OFF MY
HORSE! I was so embarrassed and still receive a good ribbing about it from time
to time. I was originally weighted down with a musket, a couple of bags, and
other things. I knew it would be difficult. But, I didn’t want to complain. The
end result was a “loaded-down” James Allen slowly sliding off and hitting the
ground just outside of the Alamo’s back gate! Eventually, they “lightened my
load” by replacing the musket with a pistol and taking a few other items. But,
with my cowboy buddies, I will never live down the fact that I didn’t stay on
the first time. (Even though, I did still make it over 8 seconds!)

AS: How was it to work with your co-stars such as Casey Biggs, the late Merrill
Connelly, and others?

CS: They were all great! Looking back, I am amazed at how patient and kind they ALL were with such a smart-aleck kid! After the first couple of weeks of filming
(after most of the final battle scenes were shot), a lot of the reenactors left;
including my father. Bing a minor, I had to have a legal guardian designated in
order to stay. I got two! One name is probably familiar to ya’ll: set designer
Roger Ragland. I think my guardians helped negotiate my contract, arranged for
my room and board, etc. I didn’t care; I was a kid having fun! I would have
slept on the ground and worked for free. In any case, I somehow ended up living
in a house with all of the other actors. I believe it was some sort of hunting
lodge in Bracketville. I shared a room with Steve Sandor. He and all the other
actors sort of became like my big brothers & sisters. Mr. Sandor, in particular,
took it upon himself to “set me straight.” (He didn’t like it when I chewed or cursed, or anything else “good Christian boys” aren’t suppose to do.) It was nothing like the atmosphere portrayed in the media today. They let me hang out with them. But, they kept me out of trouble (as best they could). They were very kind to me and very accepting. They are all great people. I still have very fond memories of those relationships.

AS: Seeing as the forty five minute version is what is shown in IMAX today, what
can you tell us about any of your scenes that were cut from the original seventy
five minute version?

CS: To be honest, I haven’t been in San Antonio to see the film since 1989. Back
then, I think the original cut was still being shown. I’ve been told by friends
who live around there that most of my scenes are still in the shortened version.
Nevertheless, I never expected the James Allen character would have that large a
part in the film anyway. I was very surprised when I saw the premier in 1988!

My dad took me to see it with some family and a bunch of his friends. Let me preface this story with this statement: My dad and his
buddies are big practical jokers! As a result, I have been trained to be on the
look out for the next gag. I had known many of them for most of my life. I was
usually the only kid around and I was (or am, if you prefer) quite a smart
aleck. So, they all rode me pretty hard. Plus, I didn’t really have a name; I
was Doug Sloan’s son. Anyway, as we approached the theater, we saw a lot of the
guys we had worked with. Many of them had already seen the film. They were
calling it the “Casey and Charley show.” But, I dismissed this as a joke. Once I
saw the film for myself, however, I was pleasantly surprised that just about
every scene I worked on had been kept in the finished film.

As we walked out of that first screening, I felt great! All my dad’s friends
started asking if he was Charley Sloan’s dad (what a reversal!). All the
attention I was getting was pretty cool. Several young ladies even approached me
to ask for my autograph (that was certainly a first!). Everyone around started laughing, however, as I
ignored the autograph requests and looked instead for the culprit who had
engineered this gag! It must have been pretty funny to see.

AS: What kind of exposure did your role in Price of Freedom give you? Were you
in any other films and did you happen to work with any of the cast and crew
again?

CS: I think probably the only “exposure” I got was in San Antonio. I wish they would
have released a DVD version! But, a few times, I have run into someone who
recognized me after seeing the movie.

I have worked on several other films (mostly in crews). I think I have seen &/or
worked with just about every other crew member from POF at least once since. A
lot of the crew on POF were reenactors I had known years before POF. Butch Frank
has been my “gang boss” on several films. I worked on another Keith Merrill film
the year I graduated high school. I saw Roger Ragland a few years ago while he
and I were both working for my dad on Gods & Generals (but only for a few minutes because he was leaving just as I got in). I
saw Ray Herbeck a few times over the years, and talked to him on the phone a
couple of times… (Sorry if I’m forgetting anybody!! I’m trying to only “drop
names” I’ve already seen on the Alamo message boards.)

AS: What are your thoughts on the real James Allen? Wouldn’t it have been great,
for the sake of all Alamo historians, if James Allen had written an account of
his experiences at the Alamo?

CS: I really respect the things I have learned about James Allen. It seems like he
became a personal man and was an asset to the community. It would have been very
easy for him to exploit his situation. However, you are right; a first-hand
account from his perspective would be invaluable historical records.

AS: When was the last time you visited the Alamo and sat down to watch POF?

CS: The last time I was in San Antonio was 1989. I went with my mom, step-dad,
brother and sister. We watched the film, visited Bracketville, and even went on down to Ciudad Acuna. It was just a family vacation. Since then, I have
been close…. But, I’ve never had the opportunity to take time to go watch the
film. I’ve always planned to take my own children. Maybe we can all go down for
the Alamo Symposium!

AS: What have you done since Alamo: Price of Freedom and what are you doing
now?

CS: Since POF, I: graduated high school, got married, joined the Army, had three
kids, worked in the civilian world a little, and am currently back in the Army.

AS: Also, last year I took part in the Battle of the Alamo reenactment for the very
first time. Dressed in buckskins, and being one of the youngest there to
participate, I portrayed James Allen. I’ll be participating in the reenactment
again in March and will attend the Alamo Society Symposium for the 20th
anniversary of POF. Will you be there?
 
Yes! I do. Hope to see you there!

Charley

*******************

~  The Alamo Society Symposium is scheduled for Saturday, March 8th, 2008 inside the IMAX Rivercenter Theatre in San Antonio. A reunion of the cast and crew is set to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of Alamo: Price of Freedom.

Plus: A courtesy screening of ALAMO…THE PRICE OF FREEDOM at 10 a.m.

Also: A book signing by The Alamo Society’s Mark Lemon – The Illustrated Alamo 1836: A Photographic Journey